Cottage Caregivers in the News

In 2015, Marshfield residents Amy McDonnell and Karen Carroll launched Cottage Caregivers, an in-home senior care agency. “Our decision to start this business was a personal one, very close to our hearts,” said McDonnell, a registered nurse and the company’s director of care. “Over the years, we’ve both helped senior family members with in-home support. We saw first-hand how a home companion can greatly improve the quality of life for individuals and their families. We wanted to offer people the chance to provide compassionate and professional home care for their loved ones.”

Today, Cottage Caregivers provides non-medical home care to a growing number of families on the South Shore and Southeastern Massachusetts. The agency is a member of Companion Connection Senior Care, a national organization that strives to maintain high standards of quality care by helping clients with their daily living activities. This includes supervision with dressing, bathing and grooming, as well as meal preparation, light housekeeping, and transportation to and from doctors’ offices.

“As people grow older, they become more susceptible to the frailties of old age,” said Carroll, who serves as the agency’s director of caregivers. “Activities that were once so simple become increasingly more difficult. Some are recovering from surgeries or struggling with early Alzheimer’s or dementia. Some are aging veterans needing extra help. For many of these people, their options are to have family members look after them, or move into a senior facility. Others don’t have family members to care for them, or are reluctant to shift the burden of care onto their children. And many don’t want to leave their homes, except as a last resort.”

“That’s where we come in,” Carroll continued. “Cottage Caregivers provides another, very viable option – a companion who gives seniors the help they need in the comfort of their own home. We give them some of their freedom back, a little more independence. We help them get the dignity and the respect that they deserve. And at the same time, we give families the peace of mind that their loved ones are safe and receiving the best possible care.”

Carroll explained that they are very selective in their screening process for caregivers. “We are looking for the most qualified and compassionate people, so this is an incredibly rigorous process. We only accept 5 percent of applicants,” she said. “Part of our personalized experience is matching clients with the perfect caregiver. We are looking to develop solid relationships and trust in order to best meet the expectations of our clients.” She said that they have hired 20 caregivers to date, and are still hiring.

Both McDonnell and Carroll agree that it is incredibly rewarding to see how the companionship they provide can make such a positive difference. “The social world of many seniors has grown smaller,” said Carroll. “So having one our companions come in, even just for a few hours, can make a huge impact. Many of our clients say that it’s these hours of the day, or these days of the week, that they look forward to most. This is so meaningful to us. And it demonstrates how we truly live by our motto: compassionate home care from our family to yours.”

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This agency is a member of Companion Connection Senior Care, a national organization of non-medical home care agencies. All members have access to recognized experts in the field of homecare, as well as the most current educational resources, enabling them to provide the highest level of care.